Until recent years, administrative support positions in law, marketing, real estate, mortgage, financial/banking and a host of other industries were traditionally paid a flat salary, without regard to overtime pay for overtime hours worked. For some companies, overtime class action lawsuits changed all that; for other companies, the educational process is working more slowly. Since underpaid employees can sue for at least four years of back pay, you would expect more change to have come by now.

The law says that, while every worker is presumed entitled to overtime pay, administrative employees can be denied overtime pay only if they spend more than one-half of their time applying truly independent discretion to their work, and not just on minor decisions. Moreover, this is only one of the factors that employers must prove in order to deny administrative employees overtime pay, and it is a difficult factor to satisfy. In our law firm’s experience, less than 1 out of 10 administrative support positions can be legally treated as salaried positions, with no overtime pay requirement. The other 9 out of 10 administrative support workers should be compensated for all overtime worked and should received all the benefits of employment such as full uninterrupted meal and rest periods.

Roughly 9 out of 10 workers are entitled to overtime pay. Think about it.

The legal system is set up to “level the playing field” and give workers the power to correct workplace abuses. Scott Cole & Associates has served California’s workforce for many years as one of the state’s most respected workers’ rights law firms and has recovered massive and record-setting settlements for employees for workplace abuses.

For a confidential discussion of your rights against a former or current employer and/or to submit a claim, contact us for more information.